Carmen POV

  The trip back from the psychologist was subdued. Carmen, Amy, Tai and Lucas were all crammed into the single, silent car.

  Lucas had shared what had happened.

  It had started with phone calls luring the children away from their accommodation at the edges of the outskirts, bordering the continental greenhouses. Adopting the voices of loved ones and relatives. Convincing them that they were in danger.

  Lucas had realised that something was off. He had recruited Nina and Tai to come along to prevent the others from leaving. Because of how quickly the kids had rushed out, there had been no choice but to follow the panicked children.

  Then the drones had taken them hostage.

  As soon as the children were lured away from their accommodation, the Poltergeist had made its move. Then there was the matter of what happened in the megabuilding. What they glimpsed. Apartments filled with dead residents. Veilcreature corpses scattered about the building.

  The drones had lead them to the executive floors, holding them hostage while their phones automatically made calls to their loved ones, hijacked by the poltergeist after it covertly made recordings of their voices.

  Any attempts made to stop the calls were all in vain. The psychologist, Kugan, had told her that both Tai and Lucas were incredibly resilient. The pair of them had seen more Veilcreatures and ghosts than many ghostslayers could boast of.

  Still, they would need to heal. When Rosewood College had offered to subsidise them for their second year of school fees, Carmen had to resist the urge to spit in their faces and tell them to stick their offer where it came from, because it was shit.

  Then, there was the matter of Evantra.

  Uriel, the Ghostslayer who had saved her from the very first Veilsurge, had contacted her to inform her that it was Evantra who had sent the poltergeist running, contrary to what she was bound to see on the local news.

  It was one thing to see her running off to kill Veilcreatures in a junkyard. Another for her to infiltrate a megacorp to investigate the cause of her best friend’s death. It was something else altogether for her to go toe to toe with a high-class ghost, managing to survive and drive it off on her own.

  There was both relief at the fact that she was capable of doing so. But so was there worry that things would only begin to get more dangerous.

  Carmen returned to a house in chaos.

  “Noelle, the chicken is so overcooked it's coming back from the afterlife to haunt you.”

  “What do I do!?”

  “Indeed, Twig. You should at least show it the respect that it deserves, Amitabha. All life must be treated with sanctity, especially that which ends up on the dinner tab—”

  “Benjamin, please save that poultry from its fate. I think the chicken would prefer the flames of hell to what she’s put it through. Noelle, go prep the dining table. Try not to set it on fire.”

  “HOW WOULD I EVEN DO THAT?”

  Carmen stared blankly at the trio that were rushing around the kitchen, desperately attempting to prepare dinner.

  The chicken was burnt. The vegetables were undercooked. The fucking fruit wasn’t even peeled properly. Yet she watched as the three kind idiots completed their tasks with fervour.

  Tai and Lucas gaped at the scene before them, their eyes immediately drawn to Benjamin — the monk with the robotic arm who was the only thing holding the dinner preparation together.

  “Welcome back every—”

  Lucas ran forwards, encircling his arms around Evantra’s leg as he hugged her tightly. Carmen could see tears brimming from the edges of his eyes, which he desperately tried to hold in.

  ***

  “So… Benjamin. I have to ask, what possessed you to become friends with them?”

  Carmen watched his Benjamin chopped the vegetables with precision. Cleaning and swiftly disposing of them. Showing an excellent command of his workspace. The kitchen counter he maintained so diligently was neater than Evantra’s corner of her room.

  “You assume, Miss Carmen. That one has a choice when it comes to friendship with those two. That one —” Benjamin pointed to Noelle – “places trackers on those that she wishes to befriend,” his hand shifted to Evantra.

  “And that one has such a painfully small social circle that to ignore her requests for friendship would be like kicking a cute wounded bunny to its demise, Amitabha.”

  Carmen nodded her head in solemn, unequivocal agreement.

  Both of them paid no attention to the glare that Evantra was shooting them or the giggles that their exchange had solicited from Lucas.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Please keep Dumb and Dumber out of trouble.”

  “Wait, who’s Dumb and who’s Dumber?” Noelle called out as she frowned in confusion.

  “I think that answers the question,” Evantra muttered.

  “I’m afraid that I can't make that promise, Miss Carmen. Even the divine have their limits, and none of the gods would answer this prayer.”

  Carmen grinned as Amy summoned Benjamin to her side. The young man miraculously deciphered her nonverbal instructions, following them to a T as he assisted Amy in salvaging what remained of the ingredients. After another fifteen minutes, dinner had been saved, and they were all seated around the dining table when the doorbell rang.

  “Oh, they’re here!” Noelle rose to her feet in a flash, running to the door before any of them could register what was happening.

  They watched as Sally, Nina, Ade and the siblings’ mother walked through the door. Carmen rose to her feet quickly, hurrying to greet them and offer them a seat at the table. She cast a glance at Evantra and saw a well-deserved, smug grin plastered all over her face.

  ***

  “What would you have done to kill the poltergeist, Nina?”

  “I would have punched it. With my FISTS!”

  Nina let out a series of swift punches into the air as if to clarify her strategy. Ade nodded his approval to his sister's approach.

  “What about you, Tai?”

  “I would have used the localised EMP to disable the electronics. Then I would have recruited a techie to hack into the systems while the poltergeist was distracted. That would open all the doors inside. And then I would blow it apart with a Ghoulkiller! How else would you deal with it, dumbo. Sneaking in blind? What if it locks all of the doors in the megabuilding, preventing you from getting close to it?”

  “Uhh…”

  “See? That’s what a smart person would have done, Evantra,” Noelle said, sharing a devious grin with Tai.

  Benjamin shook his head serenely.

  “You should not chastise a person for their lack of intelligence, Twig. It is outside of their control, and quite discouraging to be disparaged. Instead, you should pick on the what is within their control, such that they fully experience the despair of their poor life choices.”

  Evantra ignored them and turned to Lucas.

  “What about you, Luacs?”

  “I would have burned it all to the ground,” Lucas said with an expression of serenity.

  Evantra gave him a high-five.

  “That’s my boy.”

  Tai rose to her feet in utter indignance.

  “But Lucas! You’re forgetting the children! They’re still trapped inside!”

  Lucas nodded, as if perfectly anticipating Tai’s bold counterargument.

  “Taco would save them. And then I would burn it to the ground.”

  “Taco can’t do that!”

  “Taco can do anything,” Lucas whispered reverently.

  Evantra burst out into laughter, watching as Taco the ginger cat meowed in agreement.

  She watched as Carmen desperately waved her over in the direction of her room, the mothers that were sitting together casting dubious glances at the group sitting in a circle on the floor of the living room.

  “Eva, are you sure this is a good idea?”

  Evantra watched as the children argued, trying to find a solution to the hypothetical that Noelle and Evantra had posed them. She watched as Noelle and Benjamin jumped in with their own suggestions, which were quickly roasted so thoroughly that it would have made Noelle’s chicken look like an appetising feast. Ade occasionally cast enquiring glances in her direction, but he seemed content not to further pursue his curiosity seeing his sister was back safe.

  Evantra quietly led Carmen to her room and shut the door, leaving a narrow gap. They peeked through it, and watched as both the children, Noelle and Benjamin laughed as they engaged in their antics.

  “They're going to be thinking about it anyway. This way, they get to defeat the ghost,” Evantra smiled.

  Carmen’s eyes widened as she took her in.

  A girl who had come up against a brush with the paranormal once before.

  Who looked to the children and saw herself, desperate to find a way to avert her fate. Who had spent many a sleepless night thinking about the choices that she could have made differently.

  A girl who saw herself in a lonely monk deprived of a family and friends, concealed masterfully behind a bright smile and humour that made you feel warm. Knowing just what he needed, adrift as he was.

  “You know, you’re much smarter than you look.”

  “I resent that, abuela.”

  “Carmen… there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  Carmen’s eyes narrowed as her face drew closer to Evantra’s own in suspicion.

  “This… might take a while.”

  ***

  Evantra watched as Carmen rubbed at her temples, processing the ground-breaking information that Evantra had shared.

  That magical girls and guardians persisted, even though they were deprived of their powers, that Uriel and Jack numbered among them, and that they were trying to find a way to restore the abilities of the Forces Against Darkness.

  “You’re certain about this? The last time that you infiltrated a megacorporation…”

  Evantra chuckled awkwardly, shifting in her seat.

  “I can’t promise you that it won’t turn out like last time. But… I want to do this.”

  Evantra let out a long sigh.

  “I need to.”

  The perfect opportunity had been presented to her. She would finally be able to confront the feeling of helplessness that stirred within like a restless beast, constantly hounding her and dragging her down. She needed training, resources and guidance – and that was what she would get if she joined them.

  Then… there was the matter of the ghosts.

  Nimue and Galahad, entreating her to save them.

  Her wraith’s request.

  Evantra prepared herself for the inevitable rebuke.

  “Alright.”

  Her eyes shot open, darting to Carmen beside her. She looked tired, and she watched as she pulled her hair into a ponytail behind her, giving Evantra a tired smile.

  “I knew what I was getting into with you. Did you think I didn’t?”

  “Uhh…” Evantra said uncertainly, her body tense.

  “I guess I was expecting a little more push back?”

  “I’m worried about you, Eva.”

  Carmen’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line.

  “We all have our scars after Wisptown. But I don’t want them to deepen and rot, do you understand?”

  Carmen ran her fingers through her hair, before placing her palm on Evantra’s cheek.

  “I don’t want you to lose yourself and what you want in all of this.”

  Evantra nodded, taking the hand Carmen had raised into her own and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  “With their guidance, I’m sure I’ll be fine, Carmen. Better than going at it myself, don’t you think?”

  Carmen just fixed her with her calm gaze. Evantra shifted uncomfortably as she watched on in silence.

  “So young,” she whispered, shaking her head with a smile. Evantra watched as her beloved neighbour’s eyes crinkled into a smile, her eyes elsewhere as if reminiscing. She had a good idea about who.

  “Alright, mija. But I don’t care if Uriel and Jack are big deals, I’m coming after their culos if they get you in trouble.”

  “I’m sure they’ll tremble in fear when they see you at their doorstep with a chancla and Taco by your si— Hey!”

  Carmen gave her a light slap in the shoulder, prompting a laugh as Evantra went to defend herself.

  Carmen enveloped Evantra in a tight hug, and Evantra could feel her tears moisten her cheek. They remained that way for a few minutes, until Carmen eventually steadied, taking a step back.

  “Thank you for bringing them back safely. Thank you for coming back to me. Idiota.”

  They embraced, Evantra let out a deep breath that she didn't realise she had been holding in.